Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2012 2:18:43 GMT -5
Hi all!
Well, I am concerned about something. I've been reading around about vitamin A. I have seen some sites say that a ferret shouldn't get more than maybe 600 IU of vitamin A per day. Well, the suggested daily dose of Ferretone on the bottle contains 1000 IU.
I just saw a story about a ferret who, after getting the recommended dosage of Ferretone every day for 4 years, had severe vitamin A toxicity that caused permanent damage to his body.
Well, I recently bought some salmon oil for my ferrets. I thought it would be a healthier alternative to Ferretone for some extra vitamins, and more digestible than plant-based oils. The bottle of salmon oil doesn't say what the vitamin A content is, but when I searched around online, it appears that salmon oil probably contains over 2000 IU per teaspoon!
If that's the case, it has twice as much vitamin A than Ferretone. I already mixed it half and half with olive oil, which probably brings the vitamin A concentration down to about the same levels as Ferretone (olive oil not having any significant amount of vitamin A)
So, to me this seems to suggest that even a half olive oil, half salmon oil mixture should not be given in higher dosages than perhaps 1/2 teaspoon a day, or less. I am even wondering if i should give it at all, or maybe only give it a couple times a week.
What do you all think about this? It seems like a lot of ferret owners give salmon oil or Ferretone or both, as a treat. Shouldn't we be really careful not to overdose them on the vitamin A with these oils?
I'm even wondering if I should not give them any salmon oil at all, because they already get liver once a week which is supposed to provide plenty of vitamin A, right? Maybe I should only give them straight olive oil from now on, for its anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer qualities?
It's probably not an issue though, the more I think about it, I doubt that my ferrets manage to beg a whole teaspoon of oil from me per day, I'm sure it's less than that. Still... just want to see what you all know or think about this!
Well, I am concerned about something. I've been reading around about vitamin A. I have seen some sites say that a ferret shouldn't get more than maybe 600 IU of vitamin A per day. Well, the suggested daily dose of Ferretone on the bottle contains 1000 IU.
I just saw a story about a ferret who, after getting the recommended dosage of Ferretone every day for 4 years, had severe vitamin A toxicity that caused permanent damage to his body.
Well, I recently bought some salmon oil for my ferrets. I thought it would be a healthier alternative to Ferretone for some extra vitamins, and more digestible than plant-based oils. The bottle of salmon oil doesn't say what the vitamin A content is, but when I searched around online, it appears that salmon oil probably contains over 2000 IU per teaspoon!
If that's the case, it has twice as much vitamin A than Ferretone. I already mixed it half and half with olive oil, which probably brings the vitamin A concentration down to about the same levels as Ferretone (olive oil not having any significant amount of vitamin A)
So, to me this seems to suggest that even a half olive oil, half salmon oil mixture should not be given in higher dosages than perhaps 1/2 teaspoon a day, or less. I am even wondering if i should give it at all, or maybe only give it a couple times a week.
What do you all think about this? It seems like a lot of ferret owners give salmon oil or Ferretone or both, as a treat. Shouldn't we be really careful not to overdose them on the vitamin A with these oils?
I'm even wondering if I should not give them any salmon oil at all, because they already get liver once a week which is supposed to provide plenty of vitamin A, right? Maybe I should only give them straight olive oil from now on, for its anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer qualities?
It's probably not an issue though, the more I think about it, I doubt that my ferrets manage to beg a whole teaspoon of oil from me per day, I'm sure it's less than that. Still... just want to see what you all know or think about this!